The University of Fort Hare has been making headlines, as 15 high ranking high-ranking politicians allegedly implicated in the fraudulent awarding of postgraduate qualifications have been reported to the Special Investigating Unit.
Five years ago, Professor Gregory Kamwendo from the University of Zululand was allegedly gunned down after uncovering a fraudulent PhD syndicate at the university and two suspects were arrested for the academic's murder, including a colleague.
Recently, an underground network of University of KwaZulu-Natal staff and former student leaders have allegedly extorted as much as R80 million from private accommodation providers.
In a statement, the EFF Students Command (EFFSC) has revealed:
The criminal syndicate approaches landlords and/or private student accommodation providers, outside university due processes, in an attempt to intimidate and bully vulnerable landlords to solicit money, and in cash form, from them.
The political party’s student wing has shared that it is appalled and angered by the allegations of corruption and extortion against the university’s former Students' Representative Council (SRC) President, Moses Nkambako, and former member, Pregason Govendor.
The lack of student accommodation has been a challenge for the Higher Education sector. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) aimed to resolve it when it announced that private accommodation providers may register to provide housing to students.
However, most landlords who are desperate to get their houses and/or apartment blocks accredited with the university and NSFAS have fallen victim to this corruption.
According to the institution, no comments will be made further due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, however, the university has a strict zero-tolerance stance towards corruption. The cost of corruption is dire in South Africa, as it stretches beyond the country’s public universities.
